Laura Hart

My work centres on the conservation of endangered flora and fauna; celebrating the sublime architecture of nature, whilst emphasising the fragility of individual species in the medium of glass. The techniques I employ to recreate my flower and entomological specimens include glass fusion, pate de verre casting, kiln forming and flame work, with the addition of sterling silver to achieve anatomical detail.

Whilst my orchid and wild flower collections are influenced by Georgia O’Keefe’s large-scale flower paintings, the meticulous detailing in my Lepidoptera series is driven by the desire to represent endangered and rare butterflies as vibrant living creatures; beautiful, precious and delicate. I create only one of each species or sub-species, their uniqueness and fragility accentuating the real threat of extinction these glorious creatures face due to human activity.

As a lifelong collector of original nouveau and deco artworks, inevitably I pay homage to the arts and crafts ethos by uniting my sculptural flowers and butterflies with organic lighting design and functional art. In stark contrast to my nouveau inspired flora and fauna, my optical geometry pieces and ‘Picasso’ collections resonate the deco period with precise geometric design and vibrant colour palettes.

"So long, and thanks for all the fish"

After very many years of craft&design we've decided that we'd like to retire and so in 29 days we will close the craft&design website, including craft&design Online and the craft&design Selected Makers and Craft and Design Month websites.
We've had a brilliant 35 years and would like to thank all our readers, advertisers, writers, contributors and website visitors for their support throughout that time.
Our very best wishes to you all for the future - Angie and Paul.